Okay...my husband was getting tooth fairy money out of his wallet last night. He only had a twenty dollar bill. He then got 2 ones out of my wallet. He called right before lunch and the twenty is missing. All five children deny taking it. I guess I will be searching the house tonight while the kids are at swim team to see if I can find the twenty dollar bill. No child looked guilty when I asked. I didn't tell them where the money was or how much was missing. I told them that if someone took it, they need to come let me know. He has had a very stressful morning at work, so hopefully it is in his wallet and he just didn't see it.
I feel really guilty suspecting one child, but it has happened in the past with this child. If she did, she is a master liar.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Swimming
I am so proud of the twins. They have wanted to be on the swim team with their siblings since they joined our family. They could obarely keep their head above water and only doggy paddle. They couldn't stand water in their face when they came. They have completed two weeks of swimming lessons and a week of swimming in the ocean with older and taller children. Needless to say, they have risen to the challenge. The swim teacher is doing private lessons again this week to work on their strokes. She worked with them this morning and we thought they would do okay tonight for tryouts. Well, they did much better than okay! They each swam a lap of freestyle without stopping and a lap of backstroke without stopping. I was and am so proud of them! I was cheering and clapping for them from across the pool! The coach was impressed. He had seen them swim when they first came and said they needed lessons first. They swam for 1 1/2 hours. Hopefully they will sleep well tonight to do it all again tomorrow.
Bible School went well. The teacher said one of the girls was the only one who would answer the question, "What is the first book in the bible?" She answered it correctly. They seemed to have behaved okay. One girl didn't participate in the game during the outside time. I asked her why and she said she didn't want to play. I told her she needed to participate tomorrow. She said she would. We will see.
Bible School went well. The teacher said one of the girls was the only one who would answer the question, "What is the first book in the bible?" She answered it correctly. They seemed to have behaved okay. One girl didn't participate in the game during the outside time. I asked her why and she said she didn't want to play. I told her she needed to participate tomorrow. She said she would. We will see.
My boys.
I am so proud of my boys!! They have been amazing through this entire adoption process. They are great with the girls and very trustworthy. We rented them some bicycles on vacation and let them ride all over St George for a day. Another boy their age was with them. They had a wonderful time. I believe they rode about 15 miles in one day. I am so glad I have trustworthy boys!! God has so blessed us with them!!
We are home...
We are finally home from our vacation. I was ready to be home a few days before we arrived. It was too long for me. It was sweet to hear the girls say they were excited to be home and loved the smell of home. I believe this is a big thing in their lives. Looking at the big picture, we had a wonderful trip. We of course had some struggles along the way. One twin continues to act improper toward her sister when she doesn't get her way. It doesn't happen everyday, but when it does, it is not pretty. I can tell when it is happening because the tone of voice changes in both girls. Bless her heart, this is what she saw for about 6 years of her life. It is over simple things.
One of the families at the beach had a teenager and one twin loved it!! She thinks she is 18. It is different than Morgan trying to be 18. I can't describe it in words, it is just different and not in a positive way. I struggled at the beach because one of the other mothers thought the strong twin was just adorable and she could eat her up. Well, it was very obvious to me in her actions toward all three girls. She had her come sit in her lap and told her she needed to come stay with her for a visit. Did she say this to the other two girls? No! I thought to myself, you take her home for a week and treat her like a queen and see what happens! She will have an eventful time with no boundaries!!
She does well when we have structure. I have to reign her in a little closer then let her out some again. After an incident last night, I sent her to get a bath because I told her no and she tried to argue with me. When I sent her she cried and slammed the door. Well, this is not acceptable in our home. Also, about an hour earlier I reminded the girls that their door is not to be closed. This may be crazy, but I need to be able to hear what is going on in their room. I made her sit in the den alone for awhile. She cried very loudly to be sure I could hear her in my office. Later, I went in to talk with her. She had told me she didn't mean to slam the door right after she did it. I asked her if their door was supposed to be closed. She said no. I then asked her if she told the truth when she said she didn't mean to slam the door. She said no. I asked her if this was done out of anger and frustration, she said yes. I asked her why she did it and she said she wasn't thinking. I told her this is not acceptable behavior in our house. However, I also praised her because she has improved her behavior in the two months she has been with us. I reminded her that she would have had a much larger fit then. She agreed. She also agreed that she gets in trouble every time. I am really proud of her!
Both girls are still learning they can't just do what they want when they want to. I guess because for so many years, no person cared what they were doing, this is new to them. They both took off at the beach with my husband without telling me. They told him that I told them to go with him. I absolutely didn't! Morgan came in terrified because she was going to the beach to get something and one was going with her. She was walking with her, then she was gone. She had come back to the house to see my husband. The other twin was with her and had not told me she was going. I was in the condo looking for her when everything went crazy. Morgan came in scared because she couldn't find one and I couldn't find the other. They were headed to the bay with my husband. Luckily I walked out as they were leaving. He then told me they said I told them to go with him. Needless to say, all girls were sent in the house and we had a major discussion. Many rules were broken and so was trust. At the beginning of the week we never let them go without either me or my husband. We had started letting them go with a sibling. I guess they assumed they could do or say whatever again. Ugh!! I was so glad we only had one more day at this point.
If you made it through may rambling, thanks. These are short little snapshots into our current life. The girls and Alex are at Vacation Bible School this morning. I am nervous about them going. The twins have a early education teacher as their teacher. I am sure she will do great with them. I just told her to make sure she has boundaries for them. I will let you know how it goes...
One of the families at the beach had a teenager and one twin loved it!! She thinks she is 18. It is different than Morgan trying to be 18. I can't describe it in words, it is just different and not in a positive way. I struggled at the beach because one of the other mothers thought the strong twin was just adorable and she could eat her up. Well, it was very obvious to me in her actions toward all three girls. She had her come sit in her lap and told her she needed to come stay with her for a visit. Did she say this to the other two girls? No! I thought to myself, you take her home for a week and treat her like a queen and see what happens! She will have an eventful time with no boundaries!!
She does well when we have structure. I have to reign her in a little closer then let her out some again. After an incident last night, I sent her to get a bath because I told her no and she tried to argue with me. When I sent her she cried and slammed the door. Well, this is not acceptable in our home. Also, about an hour earlier I reminded the girls that their door is not to be closed. This may be crazy, but I need to be able to hear what is going on in their room. I made her sit in the den alone for awhile. She cried very loudly to be sure I could hear her in my office. Later, I went in to talk with her. She had told me she didn't mean to slam the door right after she did it. I asked her if their door was supposed to be closed. She said no. I then asked her if she told the truth when she said she didn't mean to slam the door. She said no. I asked her if this was done out of anger and frustration, she said yes. I asked her why she did it and she said she wasn't thinking. I told her this is not acceptable behavior in our house. However, I also praised her because she has improved her behavior in the two months she has been with us. I reminded her that she would have had a much larger fit then. She agreed. She also agreed that she gets in trouble every time. I am really proud of her!
Both girls are still learning they can't just do what they want when they want to. I guess because for so many years, no person cared what they were doing, this is new to them. They both took off at the beach with my husband without telling me. They told him that I told them to go with him. I absolutely didn't! Morgan came in terrified because she was going to the beach to get something and one was going with her. She was walking with her, then she was gone. She had come back to the house to see my husband. The other twin was with her and had not told me she was going. I was in the condo looking for her when everything went crazy. Morgan came in scared because she couldn't find one and I couldn't find the other. They were headed to the bay with my husband. Luckily I walked out as they were leaving. He then told me they said I told them to go with him. Needless to say, all girls were sent in the house and we had a major discussion. Many rules were broken and so was trust. At the beginning of the week we never let them go without either me or my husband. We had started letting them go with a sibling. I guess they assumed they could do or say whatever again. Ugh!! I was so glad we only had one more day at this point.
If you made it through may rambling, thanks. These are short little snapshots into our current life. The girls and Alex are at Vacation Bible School this morning. I am nervous about them going. The twins have a early education teacher as their teacher. I am sure she will do great with them. I just told her to make sure she has boundaries for them. I will let you know how it goes...
Monday, June 7, 2010
Beach
Hey! My husband's aunt is letting me borrow her computer so I can update. I haven't seen her in years and we are happy to be able to visit with her.
We traveled to the first location. The girls are slowly getting used to traveling. Thank goodness for Little House DVD's. They certainly helped the trip go faster. We had a wonderful first day! The girls loved the beach! They played on boogie boards, built sandcastles, jumped in the waves, as well as anything else you can think of to do at the beach. We played from early in the morning until late in the afternoon. We saw a few signs of oil, but not much on the first day. By evening we smelled oil. We started deciding what to do. We debated and debated. The other two families we usually spend time with at the beach decided to move further east. We were all able to get condo's near each other so we decided to travel again. The girls were dreading the travel but are thrilled to be at the beach again. The condo is larger and has three bathrooms!! Yeah!!
It is interesting what the girls have learned to do while we are at home. However, we change places and some training has to start again. Things like cramming all of your clothes in the nightstand drawers when you have an entire chest and two nightstands for two girls. I showed them how to sort their clothes and put them in drawers so they can find their things. They said they have never been shown how to do that before. So sad. When we made lunch the first day, they acted like they had never made a sandwich before. They had gotten so they could do it at home. One girl just sat and stared at her bread, peanut butter, jelly and knife for a long time. My husband finally asked if she thought the sandwich was going to make itself. She just looked at him and sighed. We are more than happy to help after effort has been made. We are working on teaching them not enabling them. They adjusted well. However, this morning at the new condo on girl asked me where the milk was. I asked her, "Where do we keep the milk?" She said, "Oh" and went and got it. She struggles sometimes with completing her statements. She is improving. Anyway, we are having a wonderful trip and the girls seem to be happy. We are having some struggles with Morgan and the dominant twin some because they have similar personalities. We just handle the issues as they come.
I am sorry if this post is crazy, I am borrowing a computer.
We traveled to the first location. The girls are slowly getting used to traveling. Thank goodness for Little House DVD's. They certainly helped the trip go faster. We had a wonderful first day! The girls loved the beach! They played on boogie boards, built sandcastles, jumped in the waves, as well as anything else you can think of to do at the beach. We played from early in the morning until late in the afternoon. We saw a few signs of oil, but not much on the first day. By evening we smelled oil. We started deciding what to do. We debated and debated. The other two families we usually spend time with at the beach decided to move further east. We were all able to get condo's near each other so we decided to travel again. The girls were dreading the travel but are thrilled to be at the beach again. The condo is larger and has three bathrooms!! Yeah!!
It is interesting what the girls have learned to do while we are at home. However, we change places and some training has to start again. Things like cramming all of your clothes in the nightstand drawers when you have an entire chest and two nightstands for two girls. I showed them how to sort their clothes and put them in drawers so they can find their things. They said they have never been shown how to do that before. So sad. When we made lunch the first day, they acted like they had never made a sandwich before. They had gotten so they could do it at home. One girl just sat and stared at her bread, peanut butter, jelly and knife for a long time. My husband finally asked if she thought the sandwich was going to make itself. She just looked at him and sighed. We are more than happy to help after effort has been made. We are working on teaching them not enabling them. They adjusted well. However, this morning at the new condo on girl asked me where the milk was. I asked her, "Where do we keep the milk?" She said, "Oh" and went and got it. She struggles sometimes with completing her statements. She is improving. Anyway, we are having a wonderful trip and the girls seem to be happy. We are having some struggles with Morgan and the dominant twin some because they have similar personalities. We just handle the issues as they come.
I am sorry if this post is crazy, I am borrowing a computer.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Head to the beach...if I can get us packed!!
We are leaving for the Gulf tomorrow afternoon, if I can get our family packed. We stay in a condo, so I have to take everything. Our car now only holds our family members without much packing room. We have rented a Uhaul to tow behind the car. I can't get the clothes washed to get packed. Interesting, the girls packed two days ago and have been wearing their nice clothes each day since. I wonder what is in their suitcases? I know they have panties because they said they didn't have any clean ones after swimming lessons today. Too funny!! We hope to be gone for ten days, if the oil doesn't mess up our trip. The girls have never had a trip to the beach for more than an hour or so. They also said today they have never stayed in a hotel or condo. What an adventure this will be!!! I pray all goes well.
I wish I could post pictures of their faces. They appear to be changing so much to me. After everything is final in a few months, I will post face pictures.
We are having a good summer so far. We have been busy with swimming lessons and doctor appointments. Hopefully life will slow down some after the beach.
I wish I could post pictures of their faces. They appear to be changing so much to me. After everything is final in a few months, I will post face pictures.
We are having a good summer so far. We have been busy with swimming lessons and doctor appointments. Hopefully life will slow down some after the beach.
Test Results
We received the test results yesterday for the girls. They did pretty well. They do have some labels, but nothing really surprising. Considering I diagnosed them before testing them, the tests confirmed my suspicions.
It has helped me change my parenting techniques some. One girl testing okay in nonverbal but low in verbal. The doctor explained that she functions better writing or drawing a picture instead of trying to talk about something. So, after we finished we went to eat. The other two girls wanted booster seats at the restaurant because they are neat looking and not baby looking. She didn't want one even though she is the shortest of the three. A few minutes later she had "that look". She wouldn't tell me what was bothering her. Before getting totally frustrated with her, I asked if she would like to write me a note. She really liked that idea. Well, she wrote that she would like a booster seat. How simple is that? I was about to get frustrated and upset thinking something big was wrong and that is all it was. I got her a booster and all was well. I guess some may be manipulation and some may not be. Who knows?
One girls has attention deficit issues. Not hyper, just innatentive. We already knew that. I struggled with her during school and just in following directions. We will parent her differently regarding this.
I am glad we tested the girls. It helps me understand how they act sometimes. She also said the acting out during pretend play could be PTSD. I am not surprised.
It has helped me change my parenting techniques some. One girl testing okay in nonverbal but low in verbal. The doctor explained that she functions better writing or drawing a picture instead of trying to talk about something. So, after we finished we went to eat. The other two girls wanted booster seats at the restaurant because they are neat looking and not baby looking. She didn't want one even though she is the shortest of the three. A few minutes later she had "that look". She wouldn't tell me what was bothering her. Before getting totally frustrated with her, I asked if she would like to write me a note. She really liked that idea. Well, she wrote that she would like a booster seat. How simple is that? I was about to get frustrated and upset thinking something big was wrong and that is all it was. I got her a booster and all was well. I guess some may be manipulation and some may not be. Who knows?
One girls has attention deficit issues. Not hyper, just innatentive. We already knew that. I struggled with her during school and just in following directions. We will parent her differently regarding this.
I am glad we tested the girls. It helps me understand how they act sometimes. She also said the acting out during pretend play could be PTSD. I am not surprised.
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